The fall of a flag and a Kingdom lost

The crumbling remains of two forts (one Dutch, one British), an old barn once used to store arecanuts and some rare silver tokens bearing the legend Fanam are all that remain to tell the tale. They are all connected to Ruwanwella – one of the key points along the ancient road that once stretched all the way from Kotte to Kanda Uda Rata. The road, trodden on by native kings and colonial generals alike, brought the two forces together in furious battle more than once, but it was also the path of diplomacy and trade.

A team led by Elmo Alles from the National Trust of Sri Lanka have long since adopted the road – championing the preservation of the many sites of archaeological and cultural interest along the route as well as well as gathering and disseminating new research relating to it. The Sunday Times carried their story (http://sundaytimes.lk/110904/Plus/ plus_01.html) when they first began.

This time around speakers at the National Trust seminar held at Palangomuwa Gabadawa, Ruwanwella. included Srilal Perera talking on Oxen pack Thawalam transport, K. D. Paranavithana on the treaties between the Dutch and the Kandyan Kings, Prof. John Balachandran on the ancient engineering feats of Sri Lankans, Mike Anthonisz on the Dutch Governors of Galle and Colombo, Waruna Ranasingha on the Devale ritual of the deified Rajasinha 1st, Prof. Gamini Adikari on the their proto-historic excavation site close to Palangomuwa, Ashley De Vos on the ancient route from North East to the North West of Pihiti Rata and Gunadasa Kumarasiri on the Ambalama at Ruwanwella.

Together, they have taken the project into its second phase at Ruwanwella. A penultimate phase is scheduled to be held in the ancient city of Menickadawara where a series of discussions are planned. The final phase, which will unfold in Balana, still lies ahead.

Frederick Medis, the President of the Royal Commonwealth Society in Sri Lanka and one time president of both the Sri Lankan Numismatic and Philatelic societies, was one of the first to address the gathering. His story, beginning in early March of 1800, placed the British General

Is this the flag King Sri Wickrema Rajasingha the last king of Kandy carried into battle? “The original of this flag was located at the Chelsea Military Hospital, London by the late E.W. Perera,” says historian and archaeologist Srilal Perera, explaining that records reveal that king Sri Wickrema Rajasingha carried this battle flag as he led the Sinhala army to fight against the British at Hanwella Fort in the September of 1803. The story goes that when the flag bearer was struck down, he dropped the flag, caus- ing panic in the King who fled the battle field. The Kandyan forces were subsequently routed and forced to retreat to Ruwanwella.

The flag is dense with symbols representing the arsenal of the gods: in the centre is the Davunde drum, traditionally seen in the right hand of Lord Nataraj. The simple circlet is the chakra audhaya, the lethal disc normally seen spinning on the finger of Lord Vishnu. The kaduwa or sword, belongs in the hand of Skanda, the god of war. The yudha porawa or battle axe belongs to Lord Ganesh. The keti dunna, a short bow, is associated with the twelve handed god Katharagama and finally the illuk-kolayudhaya whose double sphere at one end allows it to bend and twist when thrown at an enemy.